‘A little bit short of highest level’: Trump says he spoke with North Korea’s Kim almost ‘directly’

Five locations are currently being considered for the upcoming US-North Korean leadership summit, Donald Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where the US president welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

When asked by reporters if he’d spoken with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally, Donald Trump responded with a “yes” – before retracting his statement and clarifying that “let’s leave it a little bit short of the highest level.”

“We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea. And I really believe this allows good will, that good things are happening,” Trump said on Wednesday morning.

Telling reporters that the summit could be “in early June or a little before,” the US leader, however, also voiced the possibility that the meeting may not happen at all. “We’ll see what happens. Because ultimately it’s the end result that counts, not the fact that we’re thinking about having a meeting.”

After months of saber-rattling with Kim and his infamous ‘fire and fury’ threats, Trump surprisingly agreed to meet the North Korean leader, after Kim Jong-un issued an invitation through a South Korean delegation in March.

Meanwhile, the North Korean leader and the South’s president, Moon Jae-in, are scheduled to meet at a rare inter-Korean summit on April 27. A local media report indicated that the event could put an end to more than half a century of confrontation.

Trump has welcomed the rapprochement. “They do have my blessing to discuss the end to the war,” the US President said. “People don’t realize the Korean war has not ended. It’s going on right now. And they are discussing an end to the war. So, subject to a deal, they would certainly have my blessing.”

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